


Four Stories

by serenissima (killalla)



Category: Yotsuba to! | Yotsuba&!
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-20
Updated: 2012-12-20
Packaged: 2017-11-21 18:54:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/601014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killalla/pseuds/serenissima
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are many theories about where Yotsuba is from and why she is the way she is.  Some of them may even be true.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Four Stories

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rosethornli](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosethornli/gifts).



_Inaka_ \- Ena and Miura

Children are naturally curious and young girls often like to gossip. Plus, Miura has never been shy about speaking her mind.

“That Yotsuba’s kind of a funny kid, isn’t she? I mean, I like her and all, but she seems a little bit – different.”

“Miura! You shouldn’t say stuff like that! I mean, she acts a little strangely sometimes, but I think she’s a nice girl. It’s not like she gets in trouble that often, and she doesn’t mean to. Plus, no matter what happens, she’s always happy about things.”

“Do you think she’s foreign? It would make sense, wouldn’t it? She’s kind of weird that way – I mean, she thinks Cardbo is real! And when she came over to my house that time, she acted like she’d never seen an apartment building before.”

“But they have apartments in Europe and America too! And she doesn’t have an accent at all.”

“Maybe she came from somewhere in the deep in the countryside. They don’t have big buildings in the mountain villages.”

“I think her grandmother and grandfather live somewhere in Gunma, but that’s not really isolated – you could drive to Tokyo in a few hours. And surely they would have at least visited a city before she came here?”

“But then, why would she be like that?”

“That’s just the way she is. It’s her, umm, ‘childlike innocence.’ And we should help preserve it, because she’s still a little girl.”

“Well, I suppose. But everybody has to grow up sometime.”

 

Hawaii - Asagi and Mrs Ayase

Likewise, in all the commotion at accompanied the Koiwais’ arrival, the Ayase family never quite figured out where their newest neighbor was from.

“Mom, did Yotsuba ever say where exactly she came from? I remember that Takeda-san said she was an orphan.”

“Hmm – Koiwai-san mentioned it once when they first moved here, but he just said he adopted her overseas somewhere. Maybe it was America?”

“Torako asked her once, and she said ‘An island to the left, and then a little to the right.’ but there aren’t any islands in that direction, just China and Korea.”

“Well, there’s Hawaii – it’s overseas, but there are lots of _Nihonjin_ and _Nikkei_ there, and it wouldn’t be so unusual for Koiwai-san to be working there as a translator.”

“But that’s an island to the right, and then a little to the left.”

“She’s only a little girl, so maybe she had left and right confused – children sometime do that. You would always get the two mixed up, although your sisters never did. You know, you were a lot like Yotsuba as a child – enthusiastic, and very sweet. I don’t know why you turned out the way you did.”

“Hmph! If I have a bad personality, then it’s your fault as my Mother. And as for Yotsuba, if she was from Hawaii, wouldn’t she have mentioned something when Ena’s friend Miura went there for her vacation?”

“I suppose. You know, sometimes I wonder if that girl is really part of this world at all.” 

 

_Sensou_ \- Fuka and Jumbo

Fuka is closest to the neighbors, so she naturally asked Jumbo one day at the flower shop. 

“And that’s 700 yen change.”

“Thank you. Jumbo, you’ve known Koiwai-san a long time, haven’t you?”

“Yes, we went to college together. Why, are you interested in him? He’s a bit old for a high schooler like you.” 

“Oh, shut up. So, how long has he been Yostuba’s father? You said she was an orphan.”

“Oh, he adopted her when she was just a baby – maybe a year old? Then he was back at his folks’ place for a few years, so she grew up there.”

“But where is she from?”

“You know, I’m really not sure. He was travelling a lot at the time, working as a government translator in the Middle East and Central Asia. I never asked, actually.”

What he doesn’t mention is his memory of meeting Koiwai at Narita Airport, and the grim expression on the face of his normally cheerful friend. Koiwai was carrying a baby, no more than a few months old. Jumbo had been about to make a joke, something along the lines of “Oho, got a girl into trouble, then?” But one look and the words had died in his mouth as he lapsed into an uncomfortable silence.

“This is Yotsuba.” Koiwai had said. “She doesn’t have anyone else to take care of her anymore, so she’s my daughter, and that’s all I want to say about it. Ever.” Jumbo had wisely never asked again.

 

_Hime_ – Koiwai and Yotsuba

For as long as Yotsuba can remember, he has been Daddy, and that’s been enough. Koiwai has been grateful for that, but considering how inquisitive and whimsical she is, he’s already begun to anticipate the day when she begins asking about her mother, where she came from, and if she’s really Japanese.

What he doesn’t know, because she’s never told him, is that many of those questions had been answered by the _ayakashi_. When she was very small, she used to talk to them out loud, but then they explained that most people couldn’t see them, and she should use her dreams to communicate with them. Also, they said she had to be careful, because sometimes people wouldn’t believe her stories, but she’s always known that Daddy would understand, like he did when she told him about the tsuku tsuku boshi.

Koiwai knows that someday soon he will have to figure out what to tell her, but in the meantime he wants to give her as normal a life as possible for as long as possible. So she can learn to read a book, ride a bike, and know right from wrong. They are only little, everyday things, but he hopes they will help prepare her for the future that lies ahead.

Yotsuba isn’t afraid. She has Daddy, and Jumbo, and Fuka and Ena. Oh, and Asagi and Tora and Miura. She’s learning a lot, and when the time comes, she’ll be ready. Until then, she enjoys everything, every day.

**Author's Note:**

> In a few places, I have included Japanese words in romaji, italicized for clarity. As used above, they are:
> 
> Inaka - Country, rural area  
> Nihonjin - Japanese  
> Nikkei - Japanese-American  
> Sensou - War  
> Hime - Princess  
> Ayakashi - spirit, ghost


End file.
